Categories
contemplations morning coffee talk Netherlands Photography street photography

Morning Coffee Talk~ 21/365

Good Morning,

Today the Winter Solstice takes place at 10:59 local time here in Germany. Our beautiful planet will start to swing her hips back the other way and tilt her axis to begin our journey into longer days. We start the astronomical winter today and changes are expected to happen, well because they actually do.

‘Solstice’ comes from the latin Solstitium mean literally ‘sun stand still’. Between summer time and now we saw the sun’s path in the sky move gradually from north to south. For a few days before and after the solstice, the sun’s path appears to show no change, so it stands still, before starting to change northwards, as our days get longer.

This is all incredibly fascinating to me, and we can never say that the celestial bodies we live on and around are ever boring. So much tradition and folklore exists throughout history about this event, but for us here now, I just want to acknowledge it, light a candle to signal the start of longer days and welcome the winter and what new possibilities my be lying in store for us.

Image taken on a bridge in Maastricht, Netherlands.

Categories
Germany Photography street street photography

Living in Deep Freeze~

It’s always a good time to restart a blog, but there is something more compelling about living through:

  1. a global pandemic
  2. a general breakdown of norms as we know them
  3. an increase in conductivity (trust me on that)
  4. incredibly strange weather patterns
  5. varied degrees of lockdown measures
  6. living vicariously through my photographic archived memories
  7. becoming great friends with my teenage daughter
  8. a complete change of domestic circumstance
  9. a complete halt on all travel plans and viewing humans as 2 dimensional beings through Zoom.
  10. adding a whole new set of skills to my arsenal (Motion Graphics)! (More on that soon)

Yesterday I decided to just go see what other people are doing during this almost 10 days of unusual arctic temperatures in Germany. So after spending one hour trying to remove thick ice from the car, I made it on the icy roads to Duesseldorf, to find joyful people, walking in the bright sun, on white frozen snow, next to a Rhein River in high tide, some masked, some not and I was in awe of finding out how much I missed people in general, the passing conversations with strangers and the funny smiles I get when I perform my weird acrobatics to get strange angled shots.

what have you been up to these days?

Categories
art CHINA Fine art inspiration Photography

Time to be Still~

In a time when all the planet is in upheaval, when all that we know is changing, when tensions are running high and panic and fear are the order of the day, being still might be what saves us. Let’s all take a moment, to pause in time and reflect on our lives here on this planet and all the good that remains in us and around us waiting to be noticed. Let’s be still because all is well, at least on the levels that matter most.
Categories
Germany inspiration Photography street street photography Uncategorized

Before they wake up~ Düsseldorf

Before the city awakens, when the light slowly paints the dark blue horizon, that’s when magic happens. To think of how many mornings we end up not witnessing this wonder makes me wish to miss more sleep.

What is your favorite time to practice street photography?

Photos taken early this morning on the banks of the river Rhein in Duesseldorf.

Categories
art contemplations New York Photography

Remembering is subjective~

There was a winter tree above me on the Brooklyn bridge where a black bird flew overhead crying loudly, or was there?

Day 80 of 365~

Categories
contemplations Germany Photography

I don’t see what you see~

Are we living in a time where up is down and down is up? Has our value system transformed beyond recognition? Has the fine line between good and band become a highway?

Isn’t it time for a reset? Or has it already begun?

Day 50 of 365~

Image taken in Limburg an der Lahn

Categories
contemplations New York Photography

Half told stories~

Today’s dwellings are in and around time. Stories of our lives follow a time line running through today between yesterday and tomorrow. As much as we want to touch and be in tomorrow it is always out of reach today. And so is every story incomplete because time carries it through to tomorrow. The human story never really ends does it?

Day 31 of 365

Images taken on New York bridges

Categories
New York Photography street photography workshop

Dreaming of a better tomorrow~

We can sometimes as humans feel the weight of the world as events unfold around us, shudder at the uncertainty, fear the onset of darker days on this planet, but despite it all, hope lives. Even when just a tiny spark of well-being pushes us on to defy the darkness with light, the dream of a better tomorrow never dies.

Day 30 of 365

Image taken on the Brooklyn Bridge, New York

Categories
New York Photography street photography workshop

Till we meet again~ NYC

Two fantastic workshops had, a gazillion steps walked, reconnected with old dear friends, one bagel eaten, a couple of New York slices enjoyed, new restaurants discovered, museums visited, and the awesome vibe of NYC felt…

Now I can sigh and fly home.

Day 28 of 365

About to board my plane a little richer with experience and good feelings.

Categories
art myanmar Photography street photography

The Magic of Mandalay~ 

I have been in Mandalay less than a day and have already been enchanted. Almost everything reaches and yearns upwards to the skies here, the temples, the birds, the monks, the chanting, and the spirits of the people. After a magical sunrise journey this morning, I am blissfully eager to travel into my second day of wonder.